Graham Greene (born June 22, 1952) is a
First Nations actor who has worked on stage, and in film and TV productions in Canada, England and the United States.
Early life and career
Greene is an
Oneida, born in
Ohsweken on the
Six Nations Reserve in
Ontario, the son of Lillian and John Greene, who was an ambulance driver and maintenance man.
He lived in
Hamilton, Ontario as a young adult.
Greene's first brushes with the entertainment industry came when he
was an audio technician for rock bands based in Newfoundland and
Labrador, when he went by the alias Mabes. He graduated from The Centre
for Indigenous Theatre's Native Theatre School program in 1974, which
was based in
Toronto. Soon after, he began performing in professional theatre in Toronto and
England.
Career
Greene's TV debut was in an episode of
The Great Detective in 1979, and his screen debut was in 1983 in
Running Brave. He appeared in such films as
Revolution and
Powwow Highway, as well as the First Nations, CBC TV series
Spirit Bay.
It was his
Academy Award-nominated role as Kicking Bird (
Lakota:
Ziŋtká Nagwáka) in the
1990 film Dances with Wolves that brought him fame. He followed this role with films and performances on TV series, including
Thunderheart,
Benefit of the Doubt, and
Maverick, and the
television series Northern Exposure and
The Red Green Show. Greene also acted alongside
Bruce Willis and
Samuel L. Jackson in the 1995 film
Die Hard with a Vengeance, where he played Detective Joe-Rob Lambert. He hosted the
reality crime documentary show
Exhibit A: Secrets of Forensic Science.
He co-starred as "Slick Sam" Nakai with Adam Beach and Wes Studi in the film
Thief of Time (2004)and "Coyote Waits" both adapted from
Tony Hillerman novels and produced by Robert Redford.
In 1992, Greene played the role of
Ishi, the last
Yahi, in the HBO drama
The Last of His Tribe. He also appeared that year in the contemporary action-mystery film,
Thunderheart (1992) playing Walter Crow Horse, a gruff, savvy local cop living on an Indian reservation.
In 1994, he began appearing as Mr. Crabby Tree in the children's series
The Adventures of Dudley the Dragon, for which he received the
Gemini Award. In 1997, Greene suffered a
major depressive episode, and had to be hospitalized after a
police encounter. He recovered after help from Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson.
Greene was featured as Arlen Bitterbuck, a Native American on death row in the Oscar-nominated
The Green Mile (1999). He starred in the short-lived
television series Wolf Lake in 2001.
In 2005, he acted as the potential love interest of a pre-operative
transsexual woman in
Transamerica. He appeared as himself in a parody of the famous Lakota-brand pain reliever commercials, on
CBC Television's
Rick Mercer Report.
In 2006, Greene presented the documentary series
The War that Made America, about the
Seven Years War (
French and Indian War) of the mid–18th century in North America. In 2007, he appeared as Shylock in the
Stratford Shakespeare Festival production of
The Merchant of Venice
as well as "Breakfast with Scot," the first gay-themed film ever to
receive this type of approval from a professional sports league (NHL).
Greene provides the pre-recorded narration for the highly acclaimed outdoor drama,
Tecumseh! in
Chillicothe, Ohio, based upon the life of the illustrious
Shawnee chief of that name. Greene portrayed the illustrious
Sioux leader
Sitting Bull in a short
Historica vignette.
He was a guest star in an episode of the TV series
Numb3rs, as a
First Nations chief. He also guest-starred on multiple occasions on
The Red Green Show
as Edgar "K.B." Montrose, an explosives enthusiast. In one episode 'Red
Green' asks him what he thought of the movie "Dances With Wolves".
Greene's reply was that "...the native guy (himself as 'Kicking Bird')
was OK. Should have gotten the Oscar. But the rest of it was a yawn!"
Greene also made a cameo in an episode of Royal Canadian Air Farce.
In the sketch, Jacques Cartier (Don Ferguson) has to go through customs,
whose officer is played by Greene. When Cartier asks Greene if he was
in that movie "Dances with Wolves", Greene replies with a "yes". Cartier
then asks his name and Greene says "Kevin Costner".
He appeared in
The Twilight Saga: New Moon as
Harry Clearwater,
Charlie Swan's old friend.
Awards and nominations
Filmography
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